This invention relates to a window crank assembly to open and close casement windows, and in particular to a universal type of crank assembly which can be adapted for use on the crankshaft of any casement window operator of any manufacturer.
Prior art devices of this kind of which the inventors are aware include those disclosed in the following United States and foreign patents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,216,781 which was recently issued discloses a low profile crank handle having a winged hub with a hub cavity to receive any one of a plurality of plastic inserts each of which are adapted for use with different types of crankshafts of different casement window manufacturers, wherein the hub cavity has an annular locking shoulder to hold the plastic insert within the hub cavity after it has been inserted by forcing past the annular locking shoulder after which its peripheral wall snaps back in place.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,025,826 discloses a faucet assembly which can be mounted on a variety of faucet valve stems utilizing a pair of jaws having inner surfaces for engaging opposite sides of the faucet valve stem, outer cam surfaces of the jaws which bear against a co-operative cam surface of the receiving cavity, and a screw which draws the pair of cammed surface jaws upward while bearing against the cam surface of receiving cavity thereby causing the jaws to grip the upper end of the faucet valve stem.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,984,489 discloses an accessory for a hand drill which co-operates with the crank handle of the opening mechanism of a casement window. The accessory includes a shaft which is gripped by the chuck of the hand drill, the shaft having a crank handle engaging head at its opposite end to rotate the window crank when the hand drill drive shaft and chuck are rotated.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,961,443 discloses a handle assembly which provides a decorative handle having a hub cavity to receive an insert member with a splined cavity in the insert member, also external splines on the insert which is received in a splined opening through the bottom bar of a two part operating lever, the insert member held to the valve stem by a first downwardly extending screw and to the decorative handle by a second upwardly extending screw.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,876,766 discloses a decorative faucet handle having an adapter with a first bore configured to fit the faucet stem, a second bore aligned with a bore through the decorative handle to receive a fastening screw and thereby secure the decorative handle to the adapter.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,009 discloses an adapter kit for a valve handle wherein an adapter has a shank on one end to be received in the cavity of a valve handle and has a socket opening to its opposite end with an extender socket to receive the shank of another extender, or in the alternative one of a plurality of spuds having external configuration for complementary receipt in the spud socket, adapter socket or extending socket. The adapter kit can adapt a handle to a wide variety of broach sizes and offset distances.
U.S Pat. No. 4,766,642 discloses a decorative handle having an insert retained in the handle by a retainer assembly comprising a collar member which is threaded on to the handle from the bottom. The inserts can be readily changed when the room wherein the handle is mounted is remodeled.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,616,673 discloses a replacement faucet handle comprising a plurality of adapters which can be received in the cavity of replacement handles, the plurality of adapters having differing lengths and differing bores to correspond to the differing lengths and diameters of various faucet valve stems.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,189,248 discloses a snap-on handle having a U-shaped spring member in the handle recess, the spring member including a V-shaped hook portion at an intermediate location to seat in an annular notch region between discontinuous longitudinally extending splines, thereby holding the handle to the valve stem.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,965,528 discloses a universal elbow action lever handle which is readily adapted for use with a valve or faucet stem of various sizes and configurations. The handle base includes a tapered interior cavity to receive interchangeable inserts, each of which has a broach to fit a specific valve stem spline.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,582,116 discloses a stem extension for plumbing fixtures which may be of any particular length desired to enable securing the usual escutcheon and handle on the stem of the valve body, even though the valve body may not have been mounted correctly relative to the wall through which the valve stem is supposed to extend.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,386,306 discloses a switch having an actuating cam of rigid thermoplastic material with a sleeve insert of yieldable thermoplastic material, the insert having a cavity to receive an actuating shaft. A knob is secured to the other -end of the shaft. A connector of similar thermoplastic material has an opening at one end to receive such other end of the shaft and has a knob engaging extension telescoped in an opening of such knob. The shaft has a series of fracture grooves to sever parts of the shaft to tailor it to a desired length. A variety of such sleeve inserts can be used with the switch each having a cross-section corresponding to that of the particular shaft that is to be used.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,313,057 discloses color code caps for knobs, comprising plastic disks which may be inserted in the exposed ends of knobs, the-knobs being of distinctive colors or otherwise marked to distinguish from adjacent knobs. The plastic disks may be inserted in a recess of the knobs and are constructed so that they can be removed from the knobs and different disks inserted. The color coded knobs can thus be taken from one piece of equipment and used on another if and when desired.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,250,148 discloses an adjustable handle for stem operated devices, which receives any one of a plurality of insert members in the bore of the handle, the insert members having stem receiving cavities of different sizes and configuration to receive valve stems of corresponding different sizes and configurations.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,047,703 discloses a valve handle having a cubical insert that can be made to fit a variety of different valve stems by use of a set screw through the side wall of the insert.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,936,109 discloses a handle which can be used with a variety of valve stems by use of an adapter bar slidably receivable transversely of the stem facing side of the handle, the adapter bar having an opening to receive the valve stem having the same size and configuration of the valve stem for which the particular adapter is made.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,878,569 discloses a handle which can be used with a variety of valve stems by providing an oversize hub cavity in the central hub of the handle with four arcuately spaced apart threaded apertures through the hub cavity wall to receive case hardened set screws. A valve stem of any size or configuration can be received in the oversize hub cavity, and the four set screws are then tightened against the valve stem to hold it against rotation relative to the handle so it can be rotated when the handle is rotated.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,829,371 discloses a valve handle which can be used with a variety of valve stems by providing a circular disk insert having a plurality (four as shown) of stem receiving apertures configured (square as shown) to match the configuration of the valve stem and of different cross-sectional dimension to accommodate valve stems of different cross-sectional dimension, the disk insert being rotatable within the recess of the valve handle to enable centering the particular stem receiving aperture which matches the stem on which the valve handle is to be used, co-operative notches in the periphery of the disk and recess being provided to hold the disk in the desired position when the selected aperture has been centered within the valve handle.
U.S. Reissued Pat. No. RE 251 which discloses a knob having a central cavity and a plurality of inserts receivable therein which in turn each have cavities of differing cross-sectional configuration and dimension to receive valve stems or shafts of corresponding differing cross-sectional configurations and dimensions.
French Patent 1,516,995 discloses a plurality of crank handle devices having differing cavities to receive corresponding differing shafts.
United Kingdom Patent 1,054,302 discloses a knob having a cavity to receive a spindle with an enlarged conical end, the cavity being compressible to fully receive the enlarged conical end after which an outer annular end portion of the compressible cavity expands to its original dimension to form an annular shoulder bearing against the enlarged conical end of the .spindle to substantially prevent or impeded its withdrawal from the knob cavity.